Adeste In-Home Care - Colorado

In-Home Care in Colorado

Hypertension and Caregiving – You and The One You’re Caring For May Be Impacted

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In 2017, the American Heart Association changed its guidelines for high blood pressure and heart health. Under these new guidelines, if you 120-129 systolic blood pressure, it’s now labeled as elevated blood pressure. A reading of 130-139 systolic or 80-89 diastolic is now considered stage one hypertension.

What do these new guidelines mean? In general, they will impact a broader population. More people will now require monitoring their blood pressure levels, and will possibly be in need of medication. With this reclassification, about 1 in 3 US adults has high blood pressure.

And that can have a significant impact on you and the person you are providing care for.

With these new guidelines, that means more adults are considered at risk for developing serious heart problems. The earlier you start watching your blood pressure numbers, the sooner you can make lifestyle changes that can impact your life.

Before the revisions, it was recommended a person start testing their blood pressure frequently around their 50th birthdays. But with the stresses in our lives, testing earlier can only increase your chances of catching things early and making changes that will impact your life for the better.

High blood pressure is treatable. By making changes to your diet, your exercise levels, and your stress levels, you can keep your blood pressure in check. If you start to see numbers frequently rise above the 120/80 threshold, it’s time to see a doctor.

The American Heart Association also recommends that you don’t wait for a doctors visit to check your blood pressure. Instead, make it a regular habit and check your numbers yourself. Keep a running log of your numbers. Better yet, invest in technology and create a log via your favorite app.

Wearable technology can make checking your numbers a snap. Tools like QardioArm and Apple Watch enable you to take your readings anywhere easily, any time. And because it’s light and portable, you can easily tuck it into your bag or your suitcase.

In the near future, it might even be possible your Apple Watch will be your blood pressure monitor. Just touch the screen with your finger, and your numbers are detected.

All of this means better tracking for you and your loved one. And staying healthy means a better life for the both of you.

Exercise Routines You Should Include If You’ve Been Diagnosed With Parkinson’s

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Parkinson’s impacts people in different ways. But the symptoms do tend to get worse over time.

Symptoms include:

Tremors – shaking movements that are most noticeable when a person is at rest
Bradykinesia – this slows down coordination of movement between your hands and arms, and makes walking and standing more difficult
Rigidity – stiffness in the arms and legs
Instability – losing your balance

The adage of “use it or lose it” may apply. More and more evidence suggests that with a diagnosis, your exercise routines should change and increase right along with it. Exercise can help improve movement and muscle control. It can also improve cardiovascular and respiratory function.

But if you’ve had an exercise routine before, keep in mind that things will change. Exercise is essential, but it should include moving in the right way. Include:

Resistance training – this helps increase motor function
Aerobic training – this increases physical fitness, strength and functional performance
Flexibility training – this helps reduce and prevent contractures

While traditional forms of exercise like weight lifting are a great part of a routine, mix it up and look for new training programs too.

Rock Steady Boxing, for example, uses exercise adapted from boxing drills to improve agility, speed, muscular endurance, accuracy, hand-eye coordination, footwork, and overall strength.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t exercise the way you have before. Start slow. Don’t overexert your muscles or it could take days for recovery.

Also, never exercise alone. An exercise specialist can assess and help with a regimented routine that benefits where you’re at today. They can also work with you throughout the stages, to ensure all your needs are met.

What exercise routines have you found beneficial to help improve your lifestyle?

Caregiving Tip: Protect Both Of You From Flu This Season

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According to the Center for Disease Control, the flu season last year was of high severity, with high levels of outpatient and emergency department visits for flu-like conditions. The numbers grow worse with age. For people over the age of 65, approximately 58 percent required hospitalization.

As you age, your immunity begins to decline. That means it’s easier to catch highly contractible diseases like the flu.

Seasonal flu is one of the most contagious diseases we live with. It’s spread through coughing and sneezing. If someone with the flu virus touches a handle, knob, or shopping cart handle, it can leave traces of the virus. Then when the next person touches the same object, touches their mouth or nose, the disease has spread.

Of course, it’s not as simple as staying away from people who already feel sick. It can take a day or more before they develop symptoms, and up to five days before they become sick. If you don’t realize you’re sick, you’re more likely to be out and active, spreading the virus.

Flu symptoms include runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, headache, fever, chills, fatigue, and muscle aches. As it worsens, it can also include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Flu season typically starts in October and runs through the end of February, though it can extend several weeks in particularly bad seasons. Because flu can impact as much as 20 percent of the population, it’s difficult to avoid. Once you contract it, the only way to recover is to let it run its course, stay hydrated, and get lots of rest.

For healthy adults, flu-like symptoms can stay with them several days or up to a week or more. However, with seniors, they can become much sicker. Because the flu is a severe illness, it can take both physical and emotional tolls. And as the symptoms drag on, it puts seniors at a greater risk for complications.

The most serious is pneumonia. And when this sets in, getting to the doctor is imperative to prevent symptoms for worsening. Most hospitalizations from flu are a consequence of pneumonia and other respiratory complications. If a senior already suffers from chronic conditions like heart failure, lung disease, or even diabetes, the flu puts them at greater risk.

During the flu season, it’s more important than ever to practice good hygiene. Wash hands frequently, especially after being out in public areas. Cover nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and wash hands immediately afterward.

Clean your home more frequently, especially if you have come in contact with someone who later gets sick. Don’t forget doorknobs, light switches, television remotes, and other small objects you pick up regularly.

The CDC also recommends that all high risk populations, including those 65 and over, receive the flu vaccination each year. If you’re in contact with someone in this age group, or provide caregiving to someone with chronic conditions, it’s equally important to get vaccinated each year.

Gadgets That Can Help You Be A Better Caregiver

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As you move into a caregiving role for your aging parent or loved one, there are many things to consider.

You lead a busy life. Your time is already pushed to the maximum. How will you ever add in more hours to meet your loved one’s needs too?

You’re not the only one facing this situation and asking these questions.

But where some think the only answer is assisted living, others are looking for more opportunities to stay at home. And a lot of new gadgets and products are making that a little easier.

Consider Best Buy’s recent purchase of GreatCall.

GreatCall offers easy phone and wearable products and services for the elderly. Phones have larger texts and fonts for reading. The Jitterbug Flip, for instance, provides bigger buttons, a brighter screen, and even includes voice dialing to make it easy for anyone to use it at any time. They also offer a medical alert device, and a wearable response device designed to interact with your smartphone.

Best Buy also offers an Assured Living program that works with smart technology to provide a variety of real-time services throughout the day. It allows you to closely track your loved one’s day, without having to be with your loved one all the time. Think of it as a security system with your elderly loved one in mind. Through connections on furniture, doors, and other places throughout the home, you can receive alerts about any issue, including falls or failure to take medication at the proper times.

Don’t think it’s just Best Buy that’s moving into this arena. Amazon has been purchasing home security companies too, and a lot of them are making moves into the caregiving arena.

Amazon recently purchased Ring, a security program that allows you to track movement inside and out. Use Ring with your smartphone to see what’s happening, even if you aren’t there. It also offers a community feature, that can connect neighbors to one another. You’ve heard the adage: it takes a community to raise a child. Well, the same can be said for taking care of the elderly too. It’s nice to know that a nearby friend can be at your loved one’s home quickly, especially when you’re far from home.

What’s the right product or service for you? There are a wealth of gadgets and products to help you as a caregiver.

What are your favorites?

How Caregiving Can Make You Healthier, Wealthier, and Wiser

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So much talk in the caregiving industry is about the stress, the headaches, and the difficulties. It’s easy to overlook the fact that there’s a lot of goodness in the process too.

Helping others makes us better as a society. It feels good to offer kind words and a helping hand.

If you’re a caregiver, you’ve already recognized that it’s one of the most unrecognized, thankless jobs you’ll ever take on. And if you focus on that part of it, the difficulties can seem insurmountable. But if you look at it from another angle, caregiving can add so much to your life.

Caregiving Makes You Healthy

If you read a lot of the information posted about caring for an elderly relative, it’s easy to assume that depression and physical problems are close behind. Not so, shows a growing amount of evidence. In one study, the researchers found that caregiving actually provides more benefits than we think. Most caregivers are socially more active. They work hard to give their loved one the best life possible. That means taking them to medical appointments, finding social activities they can do together, and reaching out for resources and a helping hand when they need it most.

Caregiving Makes You Wealthy

The true definition of wealthy is to lead a rich life; to have a great deal of resources. Wealthy steps beyond monetary resources and also encompasses the fullness of your life. We’re wired to be kind. We’re wired to reach out a helping hand to those who are less fortunate than ourselves. That’s what makes humans what they are. Nothing can feel worse than becoming isolated and on your own. Through caregiving, you take on the responsibility of someone else, and it can lead to allowing your take-charge, can-do attitude to move you forward. That not only enriches your life, but the person you are caring for too.

Caregiving Makes You Wise

There’s a song by John Michael Montgomery that goes:

Life’s a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don’t worry about what you don’t know
Life’s a dance you learn as you go

That sums up caregiving well. It comes upon you when you least expect it. And if you step up to the plate and do it well, it adds to your life in many ways. Sometimes you’ll take charge. Sometimes you’ll fall. Sometimes you’ll learn amazing things about you and the one you’re caring for. It’s life.

Caregiving is a natural part of our lives. It happens to all of us at some point in time. And when you step up and do it well, it can help you become your best yet.

The Difference Between Caregiving and Caretaking

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How long have you been in a caregiving role?

When did you realize there’s something wrong with your relationship?

Caregiving is difficult at best. And in many cases, as more is required from you as a caregiver, the relationship you have with your loved one changes right along with it. What used to be loving, caring, nurturing, no longer is.

As things change, you might have repressed emotions and disregarded your own needs to focus on the needs of your loved one. That’s what we do; we step in and do what has to be done, especially when our loved one no longer can care for himself.

But what about you? Resentment builds. And a lack of internal focus and control means you start searching for external sources of validation and control. If you can’t get to the heart of what makes you you, you’ll find it in the only way you can.

That leads to caretaking instead of caregiving.

What’s the difference? [Read more…]

How To Get A Break From Caregiving

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We all need a break once in awhile. Even the most beautiful place on earth grows tiring when you’re living in it day in and day out. It’s human nature to need a break.

But when something is difficult, the need to step away becomes even more needed. Caregiving is difficult at best. If you don’t take some time for yourself, rest, relax, and give yourself some breathing space, you’ll pay the consequences down the road.

Respite care is about giving yourself that much needed break. Options for respite care range from family and friends helping out for a short time period to formal contracts with in home caregivers. Here are a few tips to help give you the backup you need.

Respite Care Option #1: Family and Friends

Family and friends often work together to see their loved one through the caregiving process. You’ll get the break you deserve and they will get much needed time with a favorite relative or an old friend. It’s also the easiest to find. Ask the person you are caring for who they miss the most or who they would like to spend more time with. Then reach out to them and ask if they are willing to lend a hand. Be specific about the requirements while you are away. [Read more…]

Living Life To The Fullest With Senior Concierge

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Humans are creatures of habit. We live our lives on schedule, repeating our actions again and again.

So often seniors are forced to give up the things they enjoy most in their lives because their bodies can’t keep up.

For instance, your dad may enjoy his weekly poker game with friends. But his arthritis prevents him from the typical tasks it takes to ready his home when it’s his turn to host, and he’s nervous about driving outside of his local neighborhood.

Or perhaps your mom enjoys her weekly exercise classes but no longer feels comfortable driving at night. Her schedule is too complicated to work into your routine, and you’re both becoming more anxious about her driving after dark.

The ability to continue with weekly activities greatly improves the quality of life. A person’s happiness and well-being depend on doing what we enjoy doing.
[Read more…]

Spring Cleaning For Caregivers – Did You Remember?

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The concept of spring cleaning was born many years ago, when our houses weren’t as secure and well built. Spring cleaning was a way of removing the dark, sooty grime that built up from using candles, kerosene lamps and wood stoves throughout the winter.

Even though our heating practices are much safer and secure in today’s world, the idea of spring cleaning is still engrained in our society. The idea of bringing fresh, clean air into our homes is exciting. Putting away blankets and quilts and making room for beach towels instead can bring instant gratification.

Even as we age, we can benefit from spring cleaning throughout our homes. And as a caregiver, spring cleaning can shed light on how your loved really is doing.

Cabinets, drawers, and files

Start with the desk. If your loved one has a computer, help them organize files and photographs. Check email and clean out inboxes. You can also delete items in the trash. [Read more…]

Fighting Loneliness: Why It Matters To Your Health

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

At least that’s what the songs on the radio tell us. But for many seniors, it’s anything but. This bustling time of the year is now filled with melancholic reflections and hours of solitude. The children have grown up and moved away. Friends are getting older. People are simply “doing their thing.” And the pile of party invitations and holiday cards gets shorter every year.

Maybe we should change the tune to: It’s the loneliness time of the year.

Expectations are highest this time of year, thanks in part to holiday music and ideal family movies. Doesn’t everyone have the perfect family that does everything together this time of year? It’s easy to think you’re the only one that feels isolated.

And loneliness can also be more. Rather than just being a response to the current happenings, it can also be a profound reminder of emotional experiences and traumas from long ago; triggers that remind you of things you’d rather not remember.

Avoid Media

Jump onto Facebook and you’ll see everyone living in perfect situations. The news shares stories of how we’re doing everything together. The last thing you need when you’re feeling melancholy is to have everyone else’s “happiness” splashed in your face. Avoid it. Pull out your favorite movies instead. Read a book. Or phone a friend. In most cases, avoiding the holidays can help you stay more positive throughout the season. [Read more…]